Research Papers

"Putting the Control Stick to the Paper: The Writing Center as a Video Game" - my thesis for Collaborative Writing, in which I apply various concepts related to video games to the typical college writing center, writing instruction, and a student's writing process. I cite various in-game examples from the 2004 Nintendo GameCube title, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, as the basis for my research. I connect various in-game plot points, gameplay mechanics, and overall aesthetics to suggest ideas for students to feel more comfortable in the writing center space, be more confident in their writing, increase interactivity and motivation, and eliminate common misconceptions related to writing centers and college writing overall. Having spent nearly thirty hours playing Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door to find specific evidence for my argument, as well as including a ten-page glossary of terms specific to the game itself, this is easily the most ambitious project I have taken on as an undergraduate.

"Disagreements on the Diamond: It's Okay to Have Them!" - my final research paper for Writing for College, which explores the underlying causes of fights and arguments in the game of baseball, and why it is normal for them to occur, while determining the most appropriate and civil way for baseball personnel to express themselves, while still getting their point across. Being my first research paper at the college level, this served as a the bridge for continued success in writing across all disciplines.  

"Something is Toxic in the State of Denmark" - a paper written in for a Shakespeare course that analyzes the metaphor of poison in the tragedy of Hamlet. This piece is noteworthy as the only one of my papers that does not rely on secondary sources, but instead shows my own analysis on the toxicity, both literally and metaphorically, seen throughout the tragedy.

"Victor Frankenstein's Mary Shelley" - my final research paper for First Year Seminar that draws parallels between author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's personal life and her 1818 novel, Frankenstein. I discuss the similarities between Mary Shelley and her family to various characters, and also comparing the family's life events to specific events in the novel. 

"Thus BWAAHed the Rabbids" - this paper written for an Existentialism class is inspired by the Popular Culture and Philosophy series of essay collections. Here, I take an in-depth look into the animated cartoon Rabbids Invasion, interpreting the show from a perspective based on the studies of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. I analyze the titular Rabbids and their daily activities, applying the Nietzschean concepts of the Overman, free spirits, nihilism, and eternal recurrence to my observations.